Archives for April 2015

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and the Lab have signed a five-year partnership for research on energy-efficiency solutions for buildings, renewable energy generation and storage, and smart grids, as well as developing solutions to combat urban and environmental challenges while reducing energy costs. More>

Venkat Srinivasan, head of the Lab’s Energy Storage and Distributed Resources Department, spoke at the California Air Resources Board last week on battery development and his vision for accelerating battery innovation by encouraging more manufacturing in the U.S. Click here for his slides and a video of the talk.

The academy is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science organization. This year’s fellows include Martin Head-Gordon (left) and Daniel Neumark (center) of the Chemical Sciences Division, and Eva Nogales of the Life Sciences Division. More>

The Cal-BRAIN program, which aims to revolutionize our understanding of the brain, has awarded $120,000 to 16 projects. Cal-BRAIN is led jointly by UC San Diego and Berkeley Lab. Among the recipients is Bruce Cohen of the Materials Sciences Division, whose project will look at nano-optogenetic control of neuronal firing with targeted nanocrystals. More>

By Sept. 30, the Lab will have substantially migrated to the new Work Planning & Control (WPC) system for work authorization. Once the transition is complete, the JHA, AHD and BUA systems will be deactivated, and work will be authorized by “activities” in Activity Manager. Learn more here.

A Berkeley Lab researcher has done a new analysis of data from the IceCube observatory at the South Pole, showing that the high-energy astrophysical neutrino data collected from 2010 to 2013 is a mixture containing roughly equal components of the three types of neutrinos. More>

What does it cost to save electricity? Berkeley Lab researchers have conducted the most comprehensive study yet of the full cost of saving electricity by U.S. utility efficiency programs and now have an answer: 4.6 cents. More>

The work of 35 spring SULI program interns will be on display on Wednesday, April 29, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the cafeteria. The internships provide an opportunity to work with Lab scientists and engineers on projects related to the Lab’s research programs. The poster session is hosted by Workforce Development & Education.

Manganese (Mn) oxides are some of the most redox reactive minerals in natural waters, breaking down natural organic matter into carbon dioxide. Recently, however, it has been found that photoexcitation of the manganese oxide birnessite could lead to net reduction in water without any organic molecule present. More>

University of California’s proposed revision to the Presidential policy on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence is now posted for review and open for employee comments for 30 days (through May 30). Send comments to hrpolicies@lbl.gov by May 30.